Liferaft Knife?

Never seen one defore. Love to know more about them. Maybe Andy knows something about them?
TTYL
Larry
 
Not much to say the seller has stated the story. I had heard that some of these were floating ( floating get it ) around in a stash at the closing but I never ran across them. I believe they might have been in a room with the IP material which I never got into. Of course these could be a completely different group but considering the sellers array of Schrade items in the past and present I feel there is a good chance I am right. It is an unusual opportunity since these do not come up often. LT
 
Ive seen many of these when I worked in survival equipment in the AF. It is one of the old floating raft knives. A lanyard was tied to the butt of the handle and then to the pocket of the knife sheath. The sheath was a rectangular piece of leather that was sewn to a piece of fabric which was glued to the life raft. They were put on 20 man liferafts and some single man life rafts. The idea was to have a knife which could cut ropes/lanyards without damage to the liferaft (hince no tip on the blade). Many companies over the years made these. Most of the ones you will see will have wood handles. The plastic ones are a little more rare.
 
I took 4 now I need some rafts. Actually I probably should have taken more since these in new old stock condition are unusual. The guy charges the same for shipping for one or 6. Thanks for the heads up on them. LT
 
I dealt myself in for a couple. Wanted to check with you guys before I did. Thanks LT and thanks Reverend. Now a sheath, that would be a find. Where to get one? Those liferafts no doubt show up on the surplus market.

Hell yes, Rick, buy one or a dozen!

At one time I collected military knives... not a great idea unless one has a huge place to store/display them. Too damn big. The WW2 issues did appreciate nicely in value in only a few years.

Phil
 
The sheaths are going to be harder to find as they were separate contract pieces. The best place to find one would be a (military) base auction. When I was stationed at different AF bases they would have auctions periodically. You could get anything from clothing, parachutes to all kinds of parts and different surplus. Of course you have to be near a base to get the listings when the auctions are coming up. And also when you go to these, its a "roll of the dice" as far as what is being auctioned. usually though, they have a day when people can "thumb through" whats going to be auctioned. These liferaft knives and other similar things, are strictly military sales, so when you find things like this, they will be rare (when it comes to the public). The liferaft knive costs (the military) pennies, but they are rare to the public, so it makes them worth a llittle more.
 
Got my pair of them today. Interesting Schrade oddities for my collection. Very inexpensively made, has white foam inside the plastic handle to provide the flotation. Riveted together. Blade appears to be stainless. Not real sharp. Thanx for the tip on the raft, Rev.

Phil
 
Got mine too. As stated not very sharp. Actually had a lip to the edge.
It is an interesting addition.
TTYL
LArry
 
Its meant to be a cheap, floatable, "in-expenisve" knife to cut rope/lines.
Probably cost less than 20 cents to produce (?).
 
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